Pictures for those with ADD

Since Javier seems to be adopting the Playboy tactic of pictures over content I'll play along for a bit and post up a few images of my accommodations, college, and university-at-large. It's only slightly older than MIT (652 years, give or take) and as such may just have something worthwhile showing visually which my lacking prose cannot portray otherwise. With this, I begin...



Right here we've got an image of the front of Churchill College's green. I thought it was indicative as it shows the general Livingston-esque architecture, the nice grass, and the presence of modern art. In fact, Churchill College is quite famous for it's random scattering of modern art including works by Andy Warhol in the dining area, Druva Mistry, and pictured here, Hepworth's Four Square Walk Through. In fact, the architecture on our campus has been variously hailed as a modern masterpiece. I'm not quite sure I'm buying it yet.




The two pictures above are of my room. While it may look quite sparse (the picture is a bit old), it remains true to the general layout of my room currently. Please make note of my large desk and bed couch, also known by frustrated Americans as a bouch. I've also my own bathroom and enormous closet space but thought images may be a bit too mundane for posting.



Above is a picture of my apartment, a member of the "Pepperpots". Please note how even the residences stay true to the modern art theme. As for why it's called a pepperpot, I've been told by a genuine Brit that it is because it looks like what else, but a pepperpot. When I inquired as to what this was I got a jarbled answer about how it is what you serve pepper from. I then asked if he was talking about a pepper shaker and he said "No, a pepper pot". You now know what 90% of my communications in the UK are like.



A picture of an undergraduate "staircase" which is another way of saying dormitory. In Churchill, they take the shape of quads and are usually surrounding a piece of modern art, a courtyard, or a famous tree planted by some dead politician or scientist.





So here's the Cambridge you've all probably got stuck in your minds. As far as mental images and stereotypes go, I can assure you what you've concocted in your mind is far less grandiose than what is actually here. The first two pictures are of King's College, Cambridge. In fact, a large number of the colleges look something like this. Not only are they nice on the outside, but are usually adorned with mahogany wood from some exotic locale, stained glass windows from the 1500's, and porters dressed like revolutionary soldiers who monitor who comes and goes. On top of this, some of the colleges have larger individual Trust accounts than the university-at-large. King's and Trinity, for example, have accounts larger than most small countries. The last picture of is a somebody going for a punt down the Cam in front of King's. Punting is basically sitting in a wooden boat and pushing yourself along the river using a large pole. I've been told everyone falls in once.



This last image is a very typical street in Cambridge. In fact, this particular street, Pembroke Street, is right outside of my department. While it is extremely beautiful and charming, I've grown slightly tired of hitting my head on 5 foot 6 inch door frames circa 15th century.